Overall Rating: 8.4
The writers make a conscious effort to do something both incredibly bold (uncomfortable for the characters, the audience and themselves) and yet somehow incredibly IN CHARACTER. That's the stuff great canons are made of.
Plot Synopsis:
A full synopsis can be found at Memory Alpha.
The Skinny:
The decision to try to demonstrate that there could in fact be an odd sort of romantic chemistry between Kira and Dukat was very...very bold. The (very correct) decision to make Kira into Dukat's voice of conscience...even to SAVE Dukat from the failings of his culture is very satisfying to me. I think the seething hatred Kira harbors for Dukat that exists in every moment of the series is much more rewarding when you see Dukat as an evil, but very realistic man...not as some cardboard cookie-cutter villain...and you can't get to a full appreciation of how dangerous Dukat's flaws are without first seeing how much he has in common with his adversaries (so that the differences stand out more starkly). I come down strongly on Nana Visitor's side on any ideas about actually pursuing a tryst between Kira and Dukat...(she threatened to quit if the writers handed her a script that involved actual love play with Dukat...and they WERE thinking about it)...but there's something very rewarding for me about seeing Kira ALMOST come to terms with Dukat in the later episode Return to Grace (which is set up nicely by this episode) and then to see Dukat fall back into perdition.
The theme of this episode is also unknowingly anti-abortion. Many societies in our own world have arcane rules about what can be done with unwanted children. From the mass murder of newborn girls in China to the ritual killing of children born out of wedlock in Muslim nations, the way we treat innocent children to avoid facing the consequences of our bad behavior is stomach churning...no less stomach churning than what Dukat wants to do with his teenage love child. There is no moral distinction between aborting an unborn baby (for any reason other than the imminent death of the mother caused by the pregnancy) and killing a "bastard child" to keep your political station. In either scenario, there are ugly consequences for actually having the child...but in neither case does that make it OK to end an innocent life. Kira, speaking as the voice of reason, is able to convince Dukat to listen to what little remains of his conscience and accept the consequences for his bad behavior. We need a few more like her these days if we're ever going to rise above barbarism and treat life with the proper respect.
Writing: 8.0
A bold choice made with skill and respect for proper characterization? I like it! The script is a bit sluggish in parts, keeping me from getting TOO excited...but it's a fine story told well on the whole. The side plot involving Kassidy Yates is kind of strange...we haven't seen much of their developing romance so it seems really weird to have them cohabitating already. It's also weird because it's rather poorly written with a lot of "on the nose" dialogue.
Acting: 8.2
We love Marc Alaimo here at Right Fans. :) He and Nana Visitor do such a great job working together that Nana herself sometimes forgets that Marc is not actually an evil bastard...poor guy took so much abuse from her when he appeared at show taping. :)
Message: 9.0
As discussed above, treating the consequences of your bad behavior as thought they had no positive value (rather than facing those consequences in an honest way) is the way of the sinner...and thankfully, Kira has enough of a moral code to stop Dukat from falling further into the abyss by murdering his own child. I suspect that Dukat would have been completely lost had she not done this.
Highlights:
DUKAT: Ah. The infamous Shakaar resistance. We never could eliminate that little group of yours. And it was not from lack of trying, I assure you. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, Major, but I've always admired you. You are the embodiment of the new Bajor. A Bajoran born out of the ashes of the occupation, a Bajoran tempered with Cardassian steel.
KIRA: Captain Sisko's right. You are in love with the sound of your own voice. (heh)
DUKAT: I know you find this to accept, but I believe that in some ways the Occupation actually helped Bajor.
KIRA: Which part? The massacres or the strip mining? (NICE!)
DUKAT: I have no desire to debate the merits of the Occupation with you. I'm even willing to admit that perhaps we were a little harsh in our methods. But the fact is, the Bajoran people are stronger now than they have been in centuries. When we arrived, you were a weak, contemplative race, choking on your isolation. And now you have a new confidence, a whole new sense of purpose, not to mention a key role in the future of this entire quadrant.
KIRA: All of which Bajor achieved in spite of the Cardassians, not because of them. (not giving an inch...as well she shouldn't...LOL)
DUKAT: Think what you must, But I believe the time will come when Cardassia and Bajor will grow to be not only allies but also close friends.
KIRA: Cardassia and Bajor, maybe. You and me? I doubt it. (ZING!)
DUKAT: All I ask is that you have an open mind.
KIRA: All right, Dukat, that's enough. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to spend the next six hours in silent meditation.
DUKAT: Is that a request, or an order?
KIRA: Whatever it takes. (LOL!!!)
DUKAT: Well, in that case, as much as it pains me.
(Dukat shuts his mouth and leans back in his seat.)
KIRA: We both might survive this trip after all.
DUKAT: Shall we beam down?
KIRA: I wouldn't advise it. All this ionic interference will scatter our molecules halfway around the planet. We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way.
DUKAT: It's going to be a difficult landing. I'll take the controls if you like.
KIRA: That'll be the day. Going in. (hee)
(Dukat sits, then cries in pain)
KIRA: What is it?
DUKAT: I don't know. I sat on something. I sat on something! (he looks so pathetic...LOL)
KIRA: Let me see.
DUKAT: Ooo, get it out.
KIRA: Well keep still and let me see what I can do.
DUKAT: Get it out! (LOL!!)
KIRA: Oh. This is going to hurt.
DUKAT: It already hurts. Just take it out.
KIRA: If you say so.
DUKAT: OW!
(She pulls out a big plant spine.)
KIRA: Ouch. Run this dermal regenerator over the wound.
DUKAT: This isn't funny.
KIRA: It is from this angle. (BWAHAHAHAHAAAA!)
DUKAT: You know what's even funnier? This doesn't work. (LOL)
KIRA: You have to activate it. (wow...that is a funny moment)
KIRA: You know I'm not going to let you do it. I mean it, Dukat. You are not going to kill that girl.
DUKAT: Major, why don't you worry about the other survivors and let me worry about Ziyal. After all, she is my daughter.
KIRA: That's right. She's your daughter. And there is nothing more important to Cardassians than family. At least that's what your people are always saying.
DUKAT: I have a wife and seven children. They are my family. They are the ones I must protect.
KIRA: Well, you should have thought of that before you got involved with Naprem.
DUKAT: You're right. I should have. But I made a mistake. A mistake I intend to correct.
KIRA: You don't have to take her back to Cardassia with you. Let me take her to Bajor. No one has to know that you're her father.
DUKAT: What kind of life would that be for her? Your people have never exactly welcomed half-Cardassian children into your society. That's why I sent her and her mother away in the first place. I knew the Occupation was coming to an end, and that there'd be no place for them on Bajor or Cardassia.
KIRA: So you sent them to a prison camp.
DUKAT: They were not on their way to a prison camp. The Ravinok was supposed to rendezvous with a freighter which would take Naprem and Ziyal to Lissepia, where they could live out their lives in some sort of peace.
KIRA: I don't understand. If you cared enough to help Ziyal then, how can you be thinking about killing her now? Why not send her away again?
DUKAT: Because my position isn't nearly as stable as it once was. By aligning myself with the new civilian government, I've made many enemies. Enemies that wouldn't hesitate to use Ziyal against me.
KIRA: Listen to you. It's not your wife or your seven children you're protecting, it's you.
DUKAT: By protecting myself, I am protecting them.
KIRA: And the only one who suffers is Ziyal. You would kill your own daughter to save your career. I don't understand you. You said you loved Naprem. I saw you crying at her grave.
DUKAT: I did love her. And when I bury Ziyal, I'll weep over her grave just as I wept over her mother's. But that will not stop me from doing what I have to do. Do you understand? And when the time comes, I suggest you stay out of my way. (Kira's insistence begins...Dukat must learn to view this consequence not as something that can be fixed with a physical act, but as something that must fix HIM...)
SISKO: Look, Jake, sometimes things between men and women can get a little complicated.
JAKE: Yeah, maybe, but I don't think this is one of those times. It's pretty simple, Dad. You're scared.
SISKO: What do I have to be afraid of?
JAKE: A lot. Kasidy's willing to make a major change in her life just to be close to you. If things don't work out, you're going to feel responsible, and that's scary.
SISKO: You figured out all this by yourself?
JAKE: Actually, I talked with Nog about it.
SISKO: You talked to Nog about my relationship with Kasidy?
JAKE: And we think you have nothing to worry about. If Kasidy wants to change jobs, that's her decision, not yours. Same thing if she wants to live on the station. If things don't work out, they don't work out.
SISKO: Have you told any of this to Kasidy?
JAKE: No. Nog and I thought about it, but we thought it would be better if you told her yourself.
SISKO: I see. (LOL! Getting love tips from your son...fun aye?)
KIRA: It's her.
DUKAT: My daughter.
KIRA: All right. We're going to need some help. I'm going to stay here and keep an eye on things while you go back to DS Nine for reinforcements.
DUKAT: I have a better idea. You go back to the station. I'll stay here.
KIRA: I'm sending you back, Dukat. That's an order.
DUKAT: And I hate to refuse it, but I'm afraid I must. You're welcome to file an official protest with the Cardassian military when we get back.
KIRA: There's no way I'm leaving you alone here.
DUKAT: Well, then I suggest we devise a plan to rescue these prisoners together. You need me, Major.
KIRA: Maybe I do. But if you hurt that girl, I promise I'll kill you. (nice!)
(Dukat is pointing a weapon at her)
ZIYAL: Father, what's wrong?
KIRA: Dukat, no. I'm warning you, Dukat. Don't do it.
DUKAT: I have no choice.
KIRA: There's always a choice. You don't want to do this. If you did, you never would've told me about Ziyal. Now, put the rifle down.
DUKAT: No.
ZIYAL: The Cardassian prisoners, they told me this would happen. That you'd never let me go home. But I didn't believe them.
KIRA: Ziyal, run!
ZIYAL: I used to dream about you coming to save me. It's what kept me alive.
DUKAT: Ziyal.
ZIYAL: If I can't be with you, then I'd rather die.
(Dukat drops his weapon and embraces Ziyal.)
DUKAT: Let's go home. (phew...)
DUKAT: Major.
KIRA: Dukat. Where's Ziyal?
DUKAT: Waiting for me aboard my ship. We'll be leaving for Cardassia shortly.
...
DUKAT: I just wanted to say thank you, Major, for a most interesting journey.
KIRA: You're taking Ziyal back to Cardassia with you.
DUKAT: After six years, she deserves a home and a father.
KIRA: Won't that make things difficult for you?
DUKAT: I'll let you know.
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